Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Minutes

1999 No. 550

October 7, 1999

For All Faculty

The regular monthly meeting of the Faculty Senate was called to order on October 7, 1999, at 3:02 PM, in the LaSells Stewart Center by President Kenneth Williamson. There were no corrections to the minutes of May or June 1999.

President Williamson presented the following Resolutions of Sympathy for approval:

The Faculty Senate of Oregon State University expresses deepest sympathies to the family of Dwight Bushnell upon his death on September 29, 1999.

Dwight was a highly respected member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University for 23 years. He was an active teacher and researcher, and was known for his involvement with students. He had been recognized with the Carter Teaching Award, the Austin Paul Award for inspiration to students, and the Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Achievement Award. Dwight was active in faculty governance and was serving as a Faculty Senator at the time of his death. We will miss his presence in our faculty and in this body.

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The Faculty Senate of Oregon State University wishes to recognize the long service of David Nicodemus who died this last June. Dave served as a faculty member in the Department of Physics and was known for his excellence in teaching. He served as Dean of the College of Science and as Dean of Faculty. It was through the leadership of Dean Nicodemus that the present system of faculty governance through a Faculty Senate was established. OSU remains deeply indebted to him for all that he gave to this institution over his nearly 50 years of service.

Motions 99-550-01 and 02 to approve both resolutions passed by voice vote with no dissenting votes.

Francis explained that graduate assistantships are considered as a form of financial aid that supplements graduate education. She noted that graduate assistants should be regarded as students providing service as part of a learning experience rather than as an employee whose education is secondary.

The formal move to unionize graduate assistants began with the OSU Coalition of Graduate Employees (CGE) and became affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT Oregon, AFL/CIO) in April 1998. A card campaign occurred in Winter 1999 that indicated more than 30% of graduate assistants preferred to be represented by a union. The election to determine unionization will take place in Fall 1999 under the supervision of the Employee Relations Board (ERB).

Rudolph reported that those eligible to vote include all GTA's and GRA's with .15 FTE, with a minimum of .10 FTE devoted to service as an employee, as of 10/1/99 and still employed on 11/4/99. Those excluded by law from eligibility include: those in supervisory positions, confidential (in relation to collective bargaining) or managerial employees or graduate assistants with appointments who are teaching or performing research primarily to fulfill an advanced degree requirement.

The campaign began on October 1 and will continue through the 20. On October 21, ERB will mail ballots to each eligible voter; ballots are due November 4 and ERB will tally them on November 5.

The CGE stated that the following issues were important to them:

free health insurance, including dental and vision

student fee cap

safe working conditions

TA training and resources

equal access to posting of TA positions

working environment conditions

grievance procedures

lobbying for graduate student employees

Rudolph explained that, if the unionization is successful, the above issues may or may not be bargained relative to the definition of what is a mandatory subject of bargaining (related to terms and conditions of employment) and what is permissive (management's rights in other areas outside of employment, such as academic areas).

She reported that information (Frequently Asked Questions, a time line, a letter from Provost Arnold, and questions asked by faculty) was available on the web, at: http://osu.orst.edu/admin/hr/gradstud/gradmenu.htm.

Rudolph noted that there is a system-wide task force looking at student health insurance relative to all graduate students. Larry Roper and Susan Longerbeam are representing OSU on the task force.

Hashimoto discussed potential impacts if unionization is approved, including the need to rewrite position descriptions each term as duties/expectations change.

Hashimoto encouraged faculty to have a dialogue with students and noted that faculty could talk about facts but are not allowed to threaten students or make promises to them.

In response to a question from Senator Cornell, Liberal Arts, of whether graduate students were invited to the Senate meeting, President Williamson explained they were not invited since the presentation was to primarily provide information to faculty; the purpose was not to debate the merits of the issue.

Senator Cornell stated that the CGE had objections to what was posted on the web site and felt that they should have been invited to participate in the discussion. Rudolph noted that the CGE is not a recognized university group since they have chosen to become affiliated with an outside group. By law there are certain parameters that set forth the relationship between the institution, the CGE/AFT and how the campaign is conducted. Like OPEU, the CGE is not allowed to use university resources.

In response to President-Elect Matzke asking what information is available to students, Rudolph stated that students will receive a letter and information from Provost Arnold via US mail.

In response to Senator Thies, Science, questioning taxable income for graduate students, Rudolph responded that unionization may change what is considered to be taxable.

AAUP Concerns Regarding Post-Tenure Review

President Williamson provided background for the Post-Tenure Review Guidelines document: March 1997, the Task Force on Post-Tenure Review was appointed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee; December 1998, the Faculty Senate approved Post-Tenure Review Guidelines which were sent forth as a recommendation OSU President Risser; May 1999, President Risser responded to the Executive Committee indicating he had made the following changes to the Guidelines:

1) The Guidelines stated that a faculty member could receive a review at anytime, or at a five-year interval. Risser changed that statement so that either a faculty member or unit head could ask for a review at any time.
2) The Guidelines read that if the Peer Review Committee determines that less than satisfactory performance is occurring a development plan will be drafted. Changed to read that the unit head could determine if less than satisfactory performance is occurring and could draft a performance plan for the faculty member.
3) The Guidelines proposed that a Peer Committee would recommend redistribution of efforts or reassignment of sanctions for unsatisfactory progress on the development plan. The change was that the unit head would recommend redistribution as efforts, or reassignment, as sanctions for unsatisfactory progress on the development plan.

Williamson reported that the Executive Committee discussed President Risser's changes with Ken Krane, Task Force on Post-Tenure Review Chair. Krane indicated that the task force had discussed at length the three changes and he felt that the task force was ambivalent and split on the issues. The draft task force report submitted to the Senate was in the same form as President Risser's changes and was changed prior to the final draft. Williamson explained that the Executive Committee did not send back a letter of opposition to the changes. He reminded Senators that reports from the Faculty Senate are recommendations only.

Rubin Landau, speaking as a Senator and as an AAUP Board Member, noted that some faculty received letters indicating that changes had been made to the Guidelines. There were three issues he wished to address: the actual changes in the Guidelines, the role of faculty at the university, and one of process in the Faculty Senate.

Landau felt that the Post-Tenure Review process is weakened by having the unit head make decisions as described in the first change. The second change seems to indicate that faculty no longer have institutional responsibility or accountability and are no longer agents of the University. He felt that misunderstandings were raised in the memo regarding the role of faculty at the University. He also thought that there might be some confusion as to the legal standing of the document. In regard to the third change, he noted that the task force and Senate worked hard on the process and was saddened that the changes were not discussed in the Senate.

Landau then called for a motion to reaffirm the vote taken by the Senate to approve the report as presented. Senator Cornell moved to reaffirm the Faculty Senate's original wording on the Post-Tenure Review document and to request a discussion with President Risser as to why the changes were made, motion seconded.

In response to Senator Morris, Science, questioning the point of the motion, Landau explained that the point was to have a discussion of the changes to the Guidelines.

Andy Hashimoto, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, commented that institutional responsibility and accountability refer to supervisory responsibility and, as far as the process, each institution was asked to develop Post-Tenure Review Guidelines which were forwarded to the Chancellor's Office for review and, ultimately, to the Board who will approve the Guidelines.

Motion 99-550-03 to reaffirm the Senate vote that originally approved the Guidelines and request a discussion with President Risser passed with some dissenting votes.

COMMITTEE REPORT

Bylaws and Nominations Committee

Maggie Niess , Bylaws and Nominations Committee Chair, discussed the nomination process for Faculty Senate President-Elect, Executive Committee members and Interinstitutional Faculty Senate representative. She requested nominations for elected offices be forwarded to the nominating committee no later than October 8. A slate of nominees for each office will be presented to the Senate at the November meeting.

SPECIAL REPORT

Budget

Rob Specter, Vice President for Finance & Administration, provided an overview of the budget allocation to OSU and noted that very good news has been received regarding the budget and, along with it, a cause for optimism for the future.

He explained that the new budget model was accepted by the Legislature, although it was not fully funded. OUS received about 75 cents on the dollar of stated need. New money, beyond continuing service levels (CSL), is 5.8%, which is a significant increase. The statewide programs received an increase of just under 10%. Current enrollment is up about 8% for a total of 15,784 students, which is up significantly from the anticipated 5.5% enrollment increase. The enrollment increase translates to an increase of over 11% in tuition receipts. A settling-up process, resulting in additional revenue, will occur later in the year based on the difference between the 5.5% projection and actual enrollment figures. The Emergency Board allocated $700,000 for performance funding for next years budget.

One challenge is that the CSL need is higher than available funding. Administration received $53 million in project requests from OSU units that must be considered in the allocation process. Due to the decreased level of reserves, it is imperative that reserves are funded in preparation for decreased enrollments and consequent loss of general funding from the system. An additional challenge is that the allocation money from the Chancellor's Office is split closer to 50/50 for the first and second biennia rather than a 1/3 and 2/3 split as usually happens.

The time table for the draft allocation includes com-pleteing discussions by October 8 with the President and Vice Presidents. The following week the Deans and President's Cabinet will review the proposed allocation plan before it is made public. Specter invited comment from the Faculty Senate on the plan. He anticipates the budget will be finalized no later than the end of October.

Senator Lee, Science, questioned whether units are expected to self-fund faculty raises. Specter responded that he couldn't answer that yet since the allocations are not finalized. He did note that since faculty funding received from the State was less than needed, other resources must be used to fund salaries.

Maggie Niess, Past President, questioned the allocation of funding to the units, including targeted funds. Specter responded that OSU is receiving about $84 million in general funds, of that $72 million is considered enrollment driven monies. The remaining money is dedicated to program priorities that were specifically funded in the process by the Higher Education Board. The priorities include items such as: sponsored research, research faculty salaries, and campus public service programs.

In response to IFS Senator DeKock asking if money will, at any time, be allocated to units based on student credit hours, Specter stated that administration plans to work toward that model in years two, three and four.

INFORMATION ITEMS

– Curriculum Proposal Workshop - Those involved with Curriculum Development or Review are invited to attend a Curriculum Proposal Workshop on Friday, October 15, from 9:00-11 AM in 122 Crop & Soil Science Building.

– Faculty Senate Fall Elections - Maggie Niess, Bylaws and Nominations Chair, is accepting recommendations for 1) President-Elect, 2) Executive Committee members, and 3) Interinstitutional Faculty Senate representatives. Nominations may be forwarded to her in Science & Math Education or via electronic mail at niessm@ucs.orst.edu. Deadline for nominations is October 8. NOTE: If Senators wish to make a nomination from the floor at the November meeting, they must have prior approval from the nominee.

Provost Arnold commended the efforts of many people across campus to make the beginning of the school year a positive experience for students. He reported on the following items:

Administrative Searches and Appointments -
Graduate School - Sally Francis has been appointed interim Dean
College of Science - Sherm Bloomer has been appointed Interim Dean
College of Veterinary Medicine - Bill McCulloch, an external candidate, was appointed interim dean in mid-August and resigned in late September due to personal and health reasons. Arnold has met with the college faculty and discussed a possible solution for an interim dean as an OSU person originating from outside of the college.
College of Forestry - The dean search is in a continuing phase. Bart Thielges is serving as interim dean.
Distance and Continuing Education - Sandy Woods is serving as interim dean. Finalists will be interviewed during October.
Alumni Executive Director - The search is continuing.

Personal Comments - Dr. Arnold expressed thanks for the encouragement he has received during his recovery from cancer.

REPORT FROM & DIALOG WITH THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT

President Williamson's report included the following items:
– Diversity and Our Campus Climate – In summarizing recent discussions surrounding diversity issues, Williamson reported the following real perceptions:
– Many students of color do not feel ‘safe’ or comfortable in our classrooms;
– Many students of color feel isolated, alone, and set apart especially when racial or ethnic issues are discussed in our classrooms; and
A perception exists that faculty have reduced expectations of success for students of color.

Williamson wants to initiate a process where the faculty will participate in a conversation related to diversity in the classroom. He will be organizing a meeting of faculty and interested parties to discuss what can be done to improve this situation. Attendance by Faculty Senators was encouraged.

– Graduate Student Unionization – It was suggested that Senators encourage unit heads to convene a meeting of faculty and graduate students to provide information and answer questions. Human Resources and the Graduate School have information available to serve as the basis for discussions.

– Health Benefits – Open enrollment ends the first week of November. He emphasized that ALL faculty must submit a form specifying their choice for coverage.

– OSU Branding of Courses – Information Services is proposing that OSU brand about 250 non-credit courses offered by CBT with subsequent profit sharing. The Curriculum Council is reviewing this proposal.

– e-Commerce – This proposal would allow OSU to link its home page to commercial home pages and OSU would collect some portion of the commercial sales generated through this connection. The Computing Resources Committee has expressed faculty concerns to Curt Pederson related to e-Commerce.

– Task Forces – The DPD and Athletics Task Force will meet throughout the term. Alexis Walker and Tony Wilcox are the respective chairs.